#8 - "Hexed"
#8 - "Hexed"
"Could you hand me that wrench over there, Larry?" Denise Long looked up from the engine she was trying to rebuild and pointed over towards the workbench. Dressed in well-worn and well soiled coveralls, the woman better known as Morning Star was content to be putting some time in on her pet project. Her long, dark brown hair was pinned up to be out of the way. Black grease smears covered her cheeks.
Larry McHone sighed, crossed the garage, and handed Denise the desired tool. "Here you go, kid." McHone was in his early fifties. His short gray hair was rapidly thinning. He too wore work coveralls. "If your pop could only see you now."
Denise accepted the tool with a grin. "He'd probably be wondering why I don't have a real mechanic doing this." Larry McHone was a long time friend of Denise's late father Richard. His crew chief in fact, before the tragic racing accident that took the elder Long's life. He had seen Denise grow into an attractive young woman, yet she continued to have a tomboy streak in her when it came to cars and mechanics. After the accident, Larry McHone helped Denise through her time of mourning as best he could. He currently ran the racetrack that her father had founded.
The project was the restoration of a '67 Corvette that her father had started a few weeks before his crash. Every once in a while, Denise would work on the car, trying to make it run once more. While no professional mechanic, Denise knew her way around a car. Rebuilding the 'Vette's engine was going to be a stern test of her mechanical skills.
"He'd probably be wondering when you were going to make him a grandpa," Larry added. It was likely therapeutic for Denise to work on her father's old project, Larry realized. But she also needed to live her own life as well.
"When I find the right man, I'll settle down and have kids." In a sense Larry had become Denise's surrogate father. It was a role they both felt comfortable with. "Did you come to help, or is this a social call?"
"Actually, you have a visitor. A Mister Dowd?"
Denise looked up from the partially rebuilt engine in surprise. "Tom Dowd?"
"Yes. He said it was important."
"Could you please show him back here?"
"Sure thing, kid." Larry turned and headed back towards his office.
"Thanks, Larry." Putting her project on hold, Denise quickly cleaned up as best she could. Thomas Dowd was a man she had known for several years now. He was, in fact, a PRIMUS Investigator that Morning Star had worked with numerous times in the past. If he had come out here to see her, then something serious must be up. Agent Dowd wasn't one to make social calls.
Denise was still trying to clean the grease from her cheeks when Tom strolled in. "Now there is a picture that the tabloids would love to get their grubby little hands on. The world famous Morning Star playing grease monkey."
Sparing a glance away from the mirror, Denise could see that Agent Dowd had arrived. He was dressed in his typical dark blue suit and wore sunglasses. "I trust that this is something important, or did you just come out here for a few laughs?"
Seeing that Morning Star was not amused at his attempt at humor, Agent Dowd got down to business. "Just trying to lighten the moment," he explained. "Actually, this may potentially be a serious matter."
Regarding herself in the mirror, Denise continued to wipe away the grease smears. "What's VIPER up to this time?"
"Actually, it involves Spectrum."
Turning away from the mirror, Denise regarded her guest. Spectrum was the leader of X-Factor that Morning Star helped prove innocent of charges brought against him by PRIMUS just a few days ago. She found it hard to believe that he was in trouble again that fast. "What about Spectrum?"
"Since reaching our agreement concerning your teammate, I've been assigned the task of monitoring Spectrum. I ran the standard checks and discovered that a copy of his fingerprints was on file with the LAPD."
"So you know who he really is?", Denise asked, realizing the implication of the agent's words.
"Correct, although that's information I have kept as confidential." Knowing Agent Dowd to be a man of his word, Denise accepted his explanation without comment. "Once I knew his true ID, I added his name to my monitoring program. That's when things started to get interesting."
"What have you found out?" Morning Star had fully investigated Spectrum and his true identity of James Sculley a few days back. She was surprised to find out that new information had surfaced since then.
"To make a long story short, your friend's father disappeared about a month ago."
"So I had been told," Denise interrupted. "Vanished without a trace. The police have yet to find a solid lead in the case."
"Apparently, his sister is now missing as well. LAPD got a call from Seattle that started the investigation. Supposedly, Stephanie Sculley had been in Los Angeles on vacation and left to return home on Saturday night. She never made it."
"What happened to her?" This revelation piqued Denise's interest. Since X-Factor was busy with the Crimson Claw Saturday evening, she strongly suspected that her Spectrum had nothing to do with this disappearance. But the other Spectrum, now he could easily be involved.
"The case was handed to a Detective Jackie Carter, who was already investigating the father's disappearance." The name was unknown to Denise. "She discovered someone who appeared to be Jim intercepting Stephanie in the security tapes at the airport."
"Then the Los Angeles Police are now looking for Jim?" First PRIMUS and now the LAPD were making accusations against Spectrum.
"Detective Carter went to question Jim at his home and never returned to the station. Neighbors reported what sounded like fighting and claim to have spotted several costumed individuals flying off on-- get this-- hex-shaped platforms."
"Hex-shaped--?", Denise repeated, trying to make sense of this situation. "Hexmaster!"
"That was my guess too. Anyway, Jim and Detective Carter are now missing."
"I thought you put a Transponder into Jim to track his actions? That was part of the agreement."
Agent Dowd just grinned and handed Denise a hand-held tracker. "This will lead you right to him. He's in the hills north of LA. I figured I'd give you first crack at this before I made out my report. Especially if you're going to go up against Hexmaster."
A bit surprised, Denise gratefully accepted the tracker from Agent Dowd. "Thanks, Tom. I owe you one. If you'll excuse me." Turning, Denise sprinted back to her nearby home. She would have to quickly clean up and contact the rest of the team. Looks like they had to rescue their leader. Again.
"Count on it," Agent Dowd responded as he watched Morning Star depart. Satisfied with himself, the PRIMUS Agent strolled back to his car.
"I'm beginning to wonder just what sort of leader we chose," the Empress stated sarcastically. "He seems to have more problems with the authorities than most criminals."
Once dressed as Morning Star, Denise had hopped into her sports car and made her way into downtown Los Angeles. En route, she had contacted Shockwave and Sabre. Shockwave then got in touch with Blizzard. The icy hero contacted the Empress in turn. In short order, all the members of X-Factor, save for Spectrum, had arrived at the offices of Heroes for Hire. Morning Star tactfully relayed the situation to her teammates.
"Spectrum is a good man. He's just having a streak of bad luck," Sara Redmond explained. She was still repairing the damage to her Shockwave armor and it laid in pieces before her. But she was making significant progress using scrap Kilbot parts.
"What I want to know is how are we able to track Spectrum?" The question came from Blizzard.
Morning Star looked down, preparing her response. She knew this was going to come up eventually and was not particularly proud of her role in the whole affair. In the end, she decided to just let it all out. "PRIMUS put a transponder into Spectrum so that they could track him."
Looks of surprise and confusion stared back at Morning Star. "Why did they do this?", Sabre wondered.
"How could you let them do that?" Sara couldn't believe what she was hearing. She thought that Morning Star was on Spectrum's side. "This is unbelievable...!"
More by reflex then intent, Morning Star raised her hands as if to hold the rest of X-Factor off. "Hold on a minute. The transponder was a condition set by PRIMUS, not me. They wouldn't drop the charges otherwise. Should the other Spectrum be spotted, they would be able to verify if our Spectrum was in the area or not. This all helps to further prove his innocence."
"That's sneaky and underhanded," Blizzard commented after considering the explanation. "I think I like it."
"Anyway, instead of discussing the moral implications of what's been done, we should be out trying to find Spectrum," Morning Star concluded.
"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to sit this one out," Sara explained apologetically. "My armor is in no shape to do much of anything right now.
"How unfortunate," the Empress gleefully added. "We'll try to get along without you, deary." Rising from her seat, the Empress put her arm around Blizzard's and headed towards the exit.
"I'm sure you will," Sara shot back barely above a whisper. With a heavy heart, the woman publicly known as Shockwave watched the rest of the team depart. "I'll never like that woman," she stated aloud once alone.
The evening spent out with the team a few nights back had only solidified that opinion. It had been a long time since Sara had dressed up for a night on the town. A long time since she taken the time to make herself up and pull out her party clothes. So much of the last few months had been solely devoted to being Shockwave.
At times it seemed like every waking hour had been spent working on her armor. Perfecting this function or repairing that part. It seemed to never end. At times she really wondered if it was all worth it. Should she be doing something far more worth while with her life than playing hero? It would be so easy to walk away, especially now with the armor in pieces. The repairs were coming along better than she had hoped, but self doubt was always there lurking in the shadows.
But then she would recall the incident in San Diego and all her doubts would melt away. It was a fact that her technology had caused the death of innocent people, including children. That was something that Sara couldn't bare to live with. She had to do something to make it right. Somehow.
Sara had been pleased by the look on Sabre's face when he had picked her up in his sports car. As Shockwave, Sara's armored helm concealed her appearance. Making herself up was something Sara didn't often worry about while being Shockwave. Her teammates had grown accustomed to her unrefined looks. The two talked during the drive. It turned out that he did voice overs for commercials and animated shows and movies. He must be doing pretty well for himself, Sara thought. And given his penchant for tossing out famous lines in the voices that originated them, it was a logical career for the young man.
With her face made up, her hair styled and wearing an evening dress and nice jewelry, Sara Redmond cut an attractive figure. Sara garnered more than a few stares when the pair entered the nightclub. The attention made Sara feel pretty good inside.
That was until Blizzard and the Empress showed up. Tom was dressed pretty much as Sara had expected. He tried hard to be part of the 'in crowd', but just couldn't get it right. Next to the impeccably dressed Sabre, he looked even worse.
The Empress was another matter. Her style of dress bordered on risque. She always struck Sara as the type that always wanted attention. Well, dressed as she was, she got it in spades. Angie wore a shiny red micro-mini dress that barely covered her. Complete with matching high-heeled platform shoes, Angie received all the attention she could ever hope to want.
There was the typical party chatter and the thinly veiled insults between the two women. Fortunately, Angie preferred to be on the dance floor and out in the spotlight most of the time. She danced with Tom and some with Sabre, and just about any other handsome man who approached her. Tom spent the evening keeping an eye on his girlfriend, leaving Sara mostly on her own or talking with Sabre.
"I should have stayed home and worked on my armor," Sara silently concluded as she regarded her project. Still, she needed a night to unwind and forget about her problems. In that regard, it hadn't been a complete loss. With a sigh, Sara continued to work on her repairs.
A short time later, Morning Star was behind the wheel of her Porsche. Night had fallen by the time they reached the hills. Sabre sat beside her, examining the tracking device Agent Dowd had provided. Following behind them in Blizzard's car was the icy hero and the Empress.
"I imagine that this all must seem very primitive to you," Sabre observed.
"In what way?" Morning Star glanced at her passenger as she maneuvered her vehicle along the dark road. Of all the members of X-Factor, it was Sabre that she had the strongest confidence in. Being raised by Blade, he already had been trained in many of the things need to function as part of a group. Denise would make a point in trying to get to know Sabre better in the future.
"Being in X-Factor. I mean, you've been in the Crusaders before, you've been on the Guardians as well. Teams that had their own equipment, their own transportation. It must be like going from a big league team to the bush leagues."
"Ah," Morning Star responded, now understanding Sabre's point. "It's a mixed blessing at best. Actually, it's also something of a misconception as well. I've worked as a soloist more than I've ever been on a team. I just got more press as part of a team."
"Still having team equipment-- even a headquarters would be a big improvement. Things like having team transportation to take out on missions instead of driving our own cars."
"That would be nice," Morning Star agreed. "Also something we're going to need if we are to be taken seriously. I'm just not sure how it's going to happen. I mean, I live a comfortable lifestyle, but there's no way I could sponsor the entire team."
"Neither could I, nor could any of our other teammates either, I would venture."
"Hopefully something will come up."
"Speaking of coming up, I think we're getting close." Sabre examined the tracker. "In fact, we just passed Spectrum."
Slamming on the brakes, Morning Star brought her Porsche to a sudden stop. She looked around, but the darkness limited her sight. "Where is he?"
"If I'm reading this correctly, then he's off that way a bit." Sabre gestured to his right, pointing away from the road.
"Let's check it out." Shutting the engine down, Morning Star and Sabre got out of the vehicle. "Why don't you take a look?", she asked of her companion.
Blizzard slowed his car and parked it behind Morning Star's. He and the Empress joined them a moment later.
"Specs is out here?", Blizzard wondered as he scanned the area. "There's nothing out here."
"This is rapidly turning out to be a waste of a perfectly good party night," the Empress complained.
"Do not be so quick to judge, my charming colleague," Sabre responded. The Empress smiled at the compliment. Sabre was always so polite and such a wonderful dancer. The thought of being held in his powerful arms brought a smile to the Empress' face. Blizzard's annoyed frown was concealed by his full mask.
"You found something?"
Turning to face Morning Star, Sabre reported what he had spotted using his special Blood sight. "There's a small concealed base out there. About 100 yards from the road. There appear to be a number of men in different colored bodysuits."
"That must be Hexmaster," Blizzard added. "We tangled with this creep before back at the Tanghal Tower. They all turned out to be robots." (Editor's Note: Back in Spectrum #14)
"You are correct, my friend. They are indeed machines."
"What about Spectrum?", Morning Star questioned. "Have you found him?"
Sabre continued to stare at the distant base for several moments. "Now this is interesting. Spectrum is not the only living person in there. I see Ms. Parks and another woman. They are both restrained to what look like operating tables. A short distance away, a woman in black and a man in white are sitting on a bench. They look very odd-- like they're hypnotized or something. And last but not least, we have our fearless leader. He's in what I would guess to be a cell with another, older man."
"Who are all these people?", the Empress wondered aloud. The elementalist had a feeling that she wasn't being told everything about what was going on. What else had been going on behind her back?
"Ms. Parks is Spectrum's girlfriend," Morning Star explained.
"The woman with her could be this Detective Carter," Sabre added. "The woman in black looks a lot like Jim. They've got the same bright blue eyes."
"Must be his sister, Stephanie," Morning Star concluded.
"Maybe Spec's entire family is in there," Blizzard chimed in. "Didn't his dad disappear a while back?"
"It could be," Morning Star conceded. "That could mean the man with Stephanie is the younger brother."
"How do we play this?", Sabre asked of Morning Star. Both the Empress and Blizzard looked towards her for answers.
The purple and lavender clad heroine considered for a moment. She never wanted to be in the position of team leader and yet when Spectrum was gone, the rest of the team turned to her for leadership. It was understandable, given that she was the most experienced hero on a team primarily made up of rookies. Morning Star preferred to be in the position to offer advice based on her years of experience, not the one barking out the orders. "Have you spotted the entrance, Sabre?"
"Yes." The Blood warrior pointed off into the distance.
"Good. Here's the plan. Blizzard, Empress, and I will go in through the front door. We'll create a diversion that will attract Hexmaster's attention. Sabre, you'll teleport in, rescue Ms. Parks and Detective Carter, and bring them back out. Next, rescue Spectrum and the man with him."
"What about his brother and sister?" the Empress asked.
"Given that they appear to be in a trance, I would have to guess that they're being controlled by Hexmaster. Be on guard around them. Any questions?" The other members of X-Factor shook their heads 'no'. "Then lets move!"
Moments later, Morning Star, Blizzard, and the Empress stood before the concealed entrance of the base.
"I don't see anything."
"It wouldn't be concealed if you could, Blizzie," the Empress teased. "Permit me to do the honors."
"Its all yours," Morning Star stated as she stood aside. She was curious as to what the Empress was about to attempt.
The Empress closed her eyes and concentrated. She reached up and touched the sides of her crown. Unexpectedly, the side of a nearby hill was blown away, revealing a passage leading deeper into the earth. Bits of debris pelted the surrounding area.
"That's my girl!", Blizzard exclaimed proudly, putting his arm around the Empress.
"I don't use my earth-based powers often," the Empress explained, "but they seemed the best way to go in this situation."
"I've got the point," Morning Star announced. "Empress, count to ten and then follow. Blizzard, you'll bring up the rear. Count to ten after the Empress leaves." Without waiting for a response, Morning Star turned and rushed into the newly revealed passageway. There could be traps lying ahead. Spreading the team out would make it harder for Hexmaster to catch them all in one shot.
"Tag! You're it!" Sabre slapped the back of the Green Hexmaster, sending him flying across the lab and crashing hard into the wall. Before he teleported, Sabre had summoned his Blood energy into his hands. Now the destructive energy had been transferred into the android. Even as the android tried to stand, the energy was beginning to consume its body. It blew itself apart in a spectacular display.
Sabre positioned himself between the android and the prisoners, mostly sparring them the effects of the explosion.
Turning, Sabre then regarded the astonished captives. He bowed gallantly towards them. "Good eve, fair maidens. It was a good thing I was traveling in this part of Sherwood." Perfectly imitating the voice of Errol Flynn portraying Robin Hood, Sabre moved to free the women. "I am Sabre of X-Factor."
"Sabre! Thank God you're here!", Whitney exclaimed. "They're holding Jim--"
The heavy straps were no problem for Sabre. They ripped apart in his bare hands. "No need to explain, Ms. Parks. My comrades and I are already aware of the situation." Once free, Whitney sat up and stretched her weary legs.
"Then it is true," Detective Carter muttered as Sabre removed her bonds. "Mr. Sculley is Spectrum, the leader of X-Factor."
"I have been telling you the truth," Whitney explained. The two women had plenty of time to discuss the matter during their captivity. She hadn't seen any way to protect Jim's secret identity from the police detective after being attacked by the other Spectrum.
"It does explain a great many things." Detective Carter's mind tried to process this information. It also did clear Jim Sculley of many things. Now she would have to figure out just what she would do with this information. Turning to Sabre, she gratefully added, "Thank you very much."
Sabre smiled and gently kissed the woman's hand. "Always a pleasure to rescue a damsel in distress. Take my hand and we shall complete our escape from the vile Sheriff of Nottingham!"
An amused look on their faces, the women took Sabre's hand and the trio disappeared a moment later.
"You've just made a serious mistake!", Morning Star stated defiantly to the Blue Hexmaster. Hands on hips, the heroine didn't even try to avoid his energy blasts. Instead, her unique physiology drank in the energy, boosting her already impressive strength and physical toughness. A purple glow surrounded Morning Star's body.
Moving far faster than one might suspect, Morning Star rushed the Blue Hexmaster, drinking in more energy as she approached. Reaching her foe, Morning Star grabbed him by the arm and slammed him hard to the floor. The android shattered into hundreds of pieces. "Easy as pie," the heroine noted as she tossed the still intact arm onto the debris pile.
Gathering her bearings, Morning Star noted the steel door that led deeper into the base. It was currently sealed and had no obvious means of being opened. "I'll just have to do this the hard way."
Morning Star studied the door for a few seconds, seeking to find the weakest point in the structure. Finding it, Morning Star struck hard and fast. Boosted by the energy she had absorbed, a single strike blew a large hole in the metal portal. An opening that she further widened by bending more of the metal back.
"Yeow!" Morning Star dove away from the opening a split-second before a jet of flame burst out from the opening. After rolling away several feet, Morning Star rose to her feet and eyed the opening cautiously. Lasers her system could absorb, fire was another matter entirely.
"Hang loose, 'Star! This turkey is mine!" Turning, Morning Star could see that the Empress had caught up with her. The elemental heroine stood at the other side of the room and pointed her hands towards the opening Morning Star had created.
A red-clad Hexmaster stepped out of the hole. "Bang!", the Empress stated as she fired. A jet of compressed water leaped from her hands and slammed into the android, blowing him back through the hole. "If you're gonna fight fire, bring water!"
Cautiously, the two heroines advanced towards the opening. As they grew closer, they could see the Red Hexmaster sprawled on the floor convulsing as arcs of electricity sparked about his body. "Pity. Hexmaster didn't waterproof his tinker toys," Morning Star noted.
"Damn, I am good!" The Empress eyed her handiwork with a satisfied grin.
"Let's keep moving." Morning Star led the way into the opening. Beyond was a hallway with several more metallic portals. She randomly choose one of the portals and began to force it open.
"The least this clown could have done was label his rooms," the Empress lamented as she looked on. "This could be the bathroom for all we know!"
"Only one way to find out." With her strength still boosted, Morning Star easily forced the door open.
"Look out!" The heroines turned to find Blizzard rapidly sliding towards them. He pointed past them and further down the corridor. There, another of the metal doors had silently opened and a pair of Hexmaster androids had emerged. Orange and Violet this time. "No one sneaks up on my woman!"
Blizzard generated an ice lance and launched it past the heroines. It pierced the chest of the Violet Hexmaster and nearly passed completely through the android. "I think he got the point," Blizzard joked as the android crumbled to the floor.
"For someone so cool, you've got some lame lines," the Empress noted as she fired off another water blast at the orange hexmaster. This one wasn't as affected by the attack as the Red Hexmaster had been, but it was still forced back several steps.
"Keep clear!", Morning Star instructed. Having ripped part of the metal door off, she hurtled it at the reeling Hexmaster android. She clipped its left side, severing its arm and slashing deep into the android's chest. The construct collapsed to the floor, writhing as its internal systems were short-circuiting.
"What's the deal with all the robots we've been fighting lately?" Blizzard added another ice lance to the robots just to be on the safe side. "First those mini-Mechanon's and now these guys."
"Coincidence most likely," Morning Star offered. "Regardless, we'd best keep moving. Lets see where these guys came from."
Passing through the opening the latest Hexmasters had come from, the trio entered into what appeared to be a laboratory of some type. Two large, wooden tables dominated the center of the chamber. The remains of Green Hexmaster were on the floor. Numerous broken straps were near the tables.
"This room looks a lot like where Sabre described the prisoners being kept in," Morning Star observed.
"Then he must have done his job in rescuing the women," Blizzard added. "That's great! One less thing for Hexmaster to use against us."
Noting another metallic door leading out of this room, Morning Star advanced on it. She strained for a few moments, but eventually forced this next portal open. Blizzard and the Empress kept watch while the heroine worked. At least the wounds Morning Star received from the Crimson Claw were no longer a concern. They were healing quickly and she had discarded the bandages yesterday.
Behind this next door was another laboratory/examination room. This one was currently empty and held only one large wooden table. As the trio cautiously entered, they could hear an explosion off in the distance.
"We're missing all the action!", the Empress complained, stamping her foot.
"That wasn't too far off," Morning Star noted. "We must be getting closer to the others." Finding yet another door, Morning Star ran towards it. Her adrenaline was now flowing and given the potential urgency of the situation, Morning Star easily ripped an opening in the portal.
The door led into a chamber, but another door leading out of the chamber was currently open. The three heroes rushed forward and emerged in a large, spherical shaped chamber. What immediately caught their attention was the sight of Spectrum on the floor weeping as he cradled an older man. (Editor's Note: As shown in Spectrum #25)
"Oh no...", the Empress whispered upon seeing the man. The sight made her uncomfortable and she sought Blizzard's protective arms.
Grimly, Morning Star advanced on Sabre. "What happened?"
"That's Spectrum's dad. Hexmaster fired upon him."
Nodding her understanding, Morning Star stooped to Spectrum's eye level. "Spectrum?" After not receiving an answer, Morning Star added, "Jim?"
"He's gone, 'Star," Spectrum answered in a strained voice. "My dad..."
"Maybe, but let's not give up hope just yet." Standing back up, Morning Star turned to face Sabre. "Teleport them to your mother's clinic and then come back. Perhaps she'll be able to revive him."
Sabre did as Morning Star requested. Placing his hand on Spectrum and the other on Jordan, Sabre teleported the trio away.
Further examining the chamber, Morning Star noted Stephanie lying unconscious on the floor. "Spread out and make sure the rest of the base is secured. We're still missing several Hexmasters."
The remaining members of X-Factor half-heartedly searched the area. The last of the Hexmasters was found in a control center located above the spherical shaped chamber. The Yellow and Purple Hexmasters showed signs of Sabre's sword work, while the Black Hexmaster had been blown apart. Bryan, still unconscious, was found up here as well. It appeared as if he had been thrown into a computer bank. A small fire had erupted, but it was quickly put out by Blizzard and the Empress.
The minutes slowly passed by before Sabre finally returned. He just shook his head 'no' upon seeing the expectant faces of his teammates. "There was nothing she could do."
Morning Star looked down for a few beats. Death was never an easy thing to face. Given Spectrum's understandably distraught mental state, it looked like Morning Star was still in charge. Her first instructions were directed towards Sabre. "Collect Bryan and Stephanie and get them to your mother's clinic as well. I'm betting that we're going to need Nightingale to free them from their mental conditioning. Then go get Sara and bring her here."
"Sure thing." Sabre picked up Bryan and made the short drop to the chamber below to gather up Stephanie.
"Blizzard, I'd like you to drive Ms. Parks and Detective Carter to the clinic. The Empress will remain here with me."
"Right away." Blizzard generated an ice slide and slid away from the heroines. Whitney and Jackie should be waiting for the heroes outside near the cars.
"So what are we supposed to do?", the Empress quietly wondered, her normal sense of self-importance and bravado having temporarily vanished.
"Give the base the once over. See if we missed anything. I'll wait here for Sabre to return."
The Empress went off on her assignment without question. Spotting an empty chair, Morning Star sat down. "Poor Spectrum," she thought to herself. "After all that he's been through, this had to happen."
Leaning back, Morning Star was content to wait for Sabre to return with Shockwave. With Sara's technical skills, they might be able to salvage something from Hexmaster's computers. Some data might help explain all of this. Perhaps even some useful equipment for the team could be located.
A tear ran down Morning Star's cheek. She had lost her father before and knew exactly what Spectrum was going through. He was going to need lots of understanding and support in the days to come.
